Monday, August 31, 2009

So I'm back from Niagara Falls & had a wonderful time. I have lots of pictures to show you, but until I have a bit of time to sort through them, I'll be featuring items related to the activities we did while on our mini-vacation.

The first thing we did when getting to Niagara was go to the butterfly conservatory. So here is a lovely stained-glass butterfly nightlight by DBoutique. I love the design and the fun, bright colours. Looks great lit up too:

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Well, it was chilly in Niagara, and a little wet - but it was a great time! Pictures to come, once I sort through them. First, another print of this stupendous natural wonder - this time in ice by stillpoint.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Today's the day - Pat & I are heading to Niagara Falls!!! It's actually the first time I've been, so I'm super excited! Of course we went all out - so I'm looking forward to this view from my hotel window:

Thursday, August 27, 2009

I made this quick & easy stuffed zucchini the other night - it was delicious! So good, I just had to make it again. It's real simple too:

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa (not sure how much that made cooked - around a cup)

2-3 zucchini

1 tomato

1 garlic clove

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

ricotta cheese, optional

basil, salt, pepper

Methods:

1. Cook the quinoa according to the package directions.

2. Meanwhile, parboil the zucchini. Or better yet, cook it in the microwave. Poke holes in the zucchini with a fork. Depending on your microwave & the size/number of your zucchini, nuke them for 4 - 8 minutes. Until they're somewhat soft & cooked. Let them cool a bit while you prepare the stuffing.

3. Chop the tomato. Chop the garlic (so much easier now that I have a garlic press!) - it's fairly garlicky so use a small clove or less if you prefer. Mix together with some herbs & spices (use whatever you like - I had fresh basil, parsley & cilantro plus salt & pepper).

4. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise. Lop off the top & bottom if you prefer. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds & flesh, leaving a thin shell. Make sure you leave enough so that the skin can stand up, like a boat. If you have a big zucchini with lots of seeds, you can discard these, but I just chopped it all up & added it all to the bowl of filling.

5. Mix in the quinoa.

6. Mix in the mozzarella cheese. Use as much cheese as you want - you can reserve some for sprinkling on top, or just use more.

7. Line the insides of the zucchini with ricotta cheese. I only did this the second time I made these - either way it's delicious. Just creamier with the ricotta.

8. Stuff. Spoon as much filling as you can into the zucchini. Press it down & add more - until there's none left.

9. Cook for 10 - 15 min at 350F. The timing will depend on how thick the zucchini boats are and how small the filling was chopped. It's done once the cheese is all melted & it's hot all the way through.

Enjoy!!!

But leave room for.....

CAKE!!!

Oh man this was SO good!!! And really, it's only a box of white cake, split into 2:

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

For my birthday, we went out to this Asian restaurant / lounge - it was slick, with dark wood everywhere, curling wood cut-outs over dark panneling & a gathering of birdcage chandeliers in the middle of the ceiling. All the cages had different shapes, but were all painted white and absolutely glowed in the light. I loved it - the concept was as awesome as the end result!

So, of course, I had to go on Etsy and find a few birdcage lamps - I think they'd look amazing brightening up that dark corner of your room!

Monday, August 24, 2009

I came acrossGogoKorogiannou on My Handmade Registry and I immediately went to her shop because she's from Greece. I love checking out international shops - they always seem so exotic and captivating! I was blown away by Gogo's art - especially this detailed olive tree.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

This item of the day is another one that I just couldn't resist picking up. I found it in an Etsy email - one promoting weekend sales. This cute little guy is by ANORIGINALJEWELRY and is 10% off all weekend.

Monday, August 17, 2009

I promised you a video of the cottage. Well... it's a bit large & won't finish uploading. Plus, it would probably take forever for you to download it & watch. So no video. Sorry. Just a few photos of the mossy cement steps my gramma's dad made for memere's cottage. 1952.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Preparations for my craft show are in full swing - less than a month away! When I went home for a week-long vacation, I took advantage of the country setting. First, I "hired" my dad ... ok, I just told him he had to make me some displays. They're going to look like trees (made with fallen branches) & I'll hang jewelry & paper globes from them.

I also harvested some moss from their forest to make terrariums.

I was quite pleased to find many different types of moss - green, red, star-shaped... My mom had a few vintage Mason jars that I could use for these & I think they turned out very nicely. In fact, I'm probably going to keep the largest jar for myself...

My mom also gave me a stack of vintage sheets to use as table clothes / signs. Since I have so many sheets, I decided to cut into a few & make some simple drawstring baggies (for sending off any items I sell). I could just buy bags, but I wanted something more personal (and save a bit of money). So far, I've cut out & sewn together 72 light blue bags (out of one sheet).

[That orange-flowered sheet they're sitting on is my favourite.]

Actually, I'm almost done them - I just have to press & sew the top seam (and add the ribbon drawstring).

My mom also helped me find 2 big blue umbrellas to ward against the elements (I wanted a tent, but they are way more money than I have to invest... even used ones & especially for my very first show). All in all, things are coming along VERY nicely. I just have to work super hard at building up my inventory & organizing myself.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Yesterday we took a boat ride out on Lake Nipissing & arrived at my gramma's cottage. I promised I'd give you a tour of the island - so here it is! I have a video tour which might make more sense, but it's on my laptop at home. So you'll get some pictures for now & the video later! First, let's start out at the boat house.From here, we head to the left, up a path to my gramma's cottage. Here's a better view of the path, from further back in the little park.Up the path we go. To the right you can see the gazebo.Behind the gazebo is pumpa's new shed.By the way, pumpa is what we call my grampa - my older brother was their first grandchild & that's how he pronounced grampa as a baby. And it stuck. That's him going into his shed.In this photo, we're standing on the path leading to the boat house (behind). The path leading to the right goes to the back dock. But... what's that?The outhouse! Hehehehe - don't worry though, we don't have to use this unless the power goes out! Let's walk to the back dock quickly.To the right, there's a short path to the back rock, where we occasionally have a bonfire (if it isn't too windy that is).Alright, let's go back to the cottage.And from the front:On the deck at the front:To the left of the door:To the right of the door:From here, you can see memere's cottage.Let's take a closer look at memere's cottage.The steps to the right lead to the rocks you can see from gramma's cottage. These steps lead to the back of the cottage & the point. I climbed to the top of the steps to see this:Stairs leading down to the point. From the point, memere's cottage looks like this:The point is just a rock jutting out at the edge of the bay formed by the island. My mom, her sisters & cousins used to swim here all the time when they were kids. My brothers, cousins & I stuck to the beach instead (which is owned by my gramma's brother) - this is at the bottom of the little bay:And last but not least, the view:Next up - a video tour of the island. Then a few pictures inside the cottage. I hope you're enjoying your "stay"!